No longer will fans and players have to wonder when they will get another chance.
For the U.S., whose motto throughout 4 Nations had been “This is our time”, they won’t have to ruminate too long over the stinging championship loss. Indeed, players are already counting down the days to Italy.
“I know for myself personally, it’s going to be a goal of mine for next year,” said Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and a member, along with brother Matthew, of the American squad.
“Back in Ottawa, it’s all about team success there, but it’s hard when you’re playing here and it’s clear in a year’s time what we want to accomplish,” Tkachuk said, hinting at the Olympics. “I’ll always remember this feeling when it’s next year.”
While it will always – in theory at least – remain a stand-alone event, the 4 Nations Face-Off legacy may be in whetting the world’s appetite for this kind of competition.
In that sense, then, maybe, the event was less about Canada’s win that secures their spot atop the world hockey order, or the American’s loss, and more about a global win for the sport.
“You’ve seen the guys here, how thrilled the guys are to be here. Their families are excited to be here,” NHLPA assistant executive director, Ron Hainsey, said during the tournament.
“International play, you look to soccer. They have so much international play that gets so much attention,” Hainsey added from a press conference in Montreal. “We’re not soccer as far as a global game, but we’re not that far behind it, and I think that’s the long-term goal here. This just becomes a part of the game over the long-term where fans and players, everyone, can look forward to these guys playing for their countries on a regular basis and honestly creating moments like Sid did in 2010 with the golden goal here in Canada, that last a lifetime. That’s really what we’re trying to do here over the long haul and the players are extremely supportive of it.”
Before the championship game, American head coach Mike Sullivan brought in his old Boston University coach, the legendary Jack Parker, as an ode to the bloodlines that run so deep throughout USA Hockey.
Sullivan was asked about the 1980 ‘Miracle On Ice’ team that won a gold and changed hockey forever in the U.S.
In the same way that 1980s miracle gold in Lake Placid inspired a new generation of American players, this talented American group at the 4 Nations Face-Off has that same potential, Sullivan said.
“I think this group that we have in our dressing room have an opportunity to do that and inspire the next generation of players and I think they recognize that,” Sullivan said.
Across the way, Canadian head coach, Jon Cooper, had a similar take on what this tournament meant to the game.
“For me, we’re here to celebrate a game. If after this game, all the little girls out there and boys out there that are inspired by the players that play this game and how they compete, if they, after watching tonight, go and become hockey players, that’s the real win, not who wins on the ice,” Cooper said.
There’s still lots of work to be done to make sure that memories like the ones created in Boston and Montreal can be replicated in Italy, and then wherever the World Cup of Hockey will unfold two years after that.
In the meantime, the hockey world will bask in the glow of this one-time tournament that captivated the world’s best players and legions of fans.
“It’s great. Especially to have that certainty,” Crosby said. “I think a number of times that wasn’t the case and for certain reasons that are out of everyone’s control. For guys to have an idea and for fans to know they’re going to be able to see best-on-best, I think it’s great for everybody.”
